The first two householder devotees to come to Dakshineswar were Ramchandra
Dutta and Manomohan Mitra. A medical practitioner and chemist,
Ram was sceptical about God and religion and never enjoyed peace of soul.
He wanted tangible proof of God's existence. The Master said to him: "God
really" exists. You don't see the stars in the day-time, but that doesn't mean
that the stars do not exist. There is butter in milk. But can anybody see it
by merely looking at the milk? To get butter you must churn milk in a
quiet and cool place. You cannot realize God by a mere wish; you must go
through some mental disciplines." By degrees the Master awakened Ram's
spirituality and the latter became one of his foremost lay disciples. It was
Ram who introduced Narendranath to Sri Ramakrishna. Narendra was a
relative of Ram.

Manomohan at first met with considerable opposition from his wife and
other relatives, who resented his visits to Dakshineswar. But in the end the
unselfish love of the Master triumphed over worldly affection. It was
Manomohan who brought Rakhal to the Master.